A Prophecy of Esau and Jacob

A summary of their prayers of returning Jews led by the Levites (Nehemiah 9:4-38). When confessing their sins, they spoke as they were very moved by repentence, that they may be the more humbled and ashamed, and it is good to notice the mercies of God.

Let all remember that pride and obstinacy are sins which ruin the soul. Behold this sweet promise: a God ready to pardon! Instead of keeping away from God under a sense of unworthiness, let all come boldly to the throne of God, that all may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. He is a God ready to pardon.

Nehemiah 9

¹ Now in the twenty and fourth day of this month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting and with sackcloth and earth upon them. — now in the twenty and fourth day; the feast of tabernacles began on the fourteenth day, and ended on the twenty-second, all which time mourning had been forbidden, as contrary to the nature of the feast, which was to be kept with joy.

— but now, on the twenty-fourth, the next day but one after the feast, their consciences having been fully awakened and their hearts filled with grief for their sins, which they were not allowed to express in that time of public joy, they resume their former thoughts and, recalling their sins to mind, set apart a day for solemn fasting and humiliation.

² And the seed of Israel separated themselves from all strangers, and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers. — the seed of Israel separated themselves from all strangers; it appears that the “strangers” are “the people of the lands,” or neighbouring heathen of whom there were at all times considerable numbers in Jerusalem; it was not fitting that these aliens should take part in a ceremony of which the main object was that the special people of God should renew their covenant with him;

— and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers: particularly their taking of strange wives, which their fathers had also done and set them a bad example which they had followed.

³ And they stood up in their place and read in the Book of the Law of the Lord their God for one fourth part of the day; and another fourth part they confessed and worshiped the Lord their God. — one fourth part, namely, from midday to the time of the evening sacrifice;

— both day and night were divided into four parts; the reading occupied the morning and the worship the afternoon. It is the latter which is now made prominent, as the former had been prominent in the preceding chapter.

⁴ Then stood up upon the stairs of the Levites, Jeshua and Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani, and cried with a loud voice unto the Lord their God. — upon the stairs, of the Levites; or upon the platform or pulpits as the Levites used to stand upon when they taught the people;

— and cried with a loud voice unto the Lord their God; praying with great fervency, and making bitter lamentation for the sins of the people and their own.

⁵ Then the Levites, Jeshua and Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabniah, Sherebiah, Hodijah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said: “Stand up and bless the Lord your God for ever and ever! And blessed be Thy glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise! — then the Levites said, Stand up and bless the Lord your God; if this prayer was uttered by all these Levites in common, it must have been prepared and adopted beforehand, perhaps, by Ezra; but it may only embody the substance of the confession and thanksgiving.

⁶ Thou, even Thou, art Lord alone; Thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens with all their host, the earth and all things that are therein, the seas and all that is therein; and Thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshipeth Thee. — the host of heaven who worshipped God are the angels, as in Psalm 148:2; Psalm 103:21. 

⁷ Thou art the Lord the God, who didst choose Abram, and broughtest him forth out of Ur of the Chaldees, and gavest him the name of Abraham; — thou art the Lord who didst choose Abraham; here follows a compendious history of the affairs of the Hebrew nation, which, it is likely was composed by Ezra or Nehemiah in the form of a prayer, and delivered to the Levites, that they might pronounce it distinctly before the whole congregation;

⁸ and foundest his heart faithful before Thee, and madest a covenant with him to give the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites and the Perizzites, and the Jebusites and the Girgashites—to give it, I say, to his seed, and hast performed Thy words, for Thou art righteous” — Canaanites, etc; the nations driven out were actually seven (Deuteronomy 7:1), but it is a common figure of speech to put the part for the whole;

⁹ and didst see the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, and heardest their cry by the Red Sea; — and heardest their cry by the Red sea; which was before them, and the rocks on both sides of them, and the host of Pharaoh behind, pressing upon them, when he heard them, and wrought salvation for them, Exodus 14:10,

¹⁰ and showedst signs and wonders upon Pharaoh and on all his servants and on all the people of his land. For Thou knewest that they dealt proudly against them. So didst Thou get Thee a name, as it is this day. — this epitome of the history of the Plagues shows acquaintance with Deuteronomy 6:22, ‘And the Lord shewed signs and wonders, great and sore, upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his house.’

¹¹ And Thou didst divide the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on the dry land; and their persecutors Thou threwest into the deep, as a stone into the mighty waters. — the fulfilment of this word by the deliverance of Israel from Egypt, and their guidance through the wilderness to Canaan.

¹² Moreover Thou leddest them in the day by a cloudy pillar, and in the night by a pillar of fire, to give them light in the way wherein they should go. — moreover, thou leddest them in the day by a cloudy pillar; the Israelites, to shelter them from the heat of the sun in a dry and barren wilderness:

— and in the night by a pillar of fire, to give them light in the way wherein they should go; through a trackless desert, see Exodus 13:21.

¹³ Thou camest down also upon Mount Sinai and spokest with them from heaven, and gavest them right judgements and true laws, good statutes and commandments; — and gavest them right judgements and true laws, good statutes and commandments; which were of excellent use to them in their civil and ecclesiastical polity; these were not spoken to Israel, but given to Moses on the mount, to be delivered to them.

¹⁴ and madest known unto them Thy holy Sabbath, and commandedst them precepts, statutes, and laws by the hand of Moses Thy servant; — and madest known … sabbath Cf. Ezekiel 20:12. Apparently referring to the fourth Commandment (Exodus 20:8-11. Cf. Exodus 31:16);

— but it is to be noticed that the observance of the Sabbath is prescribed if not presupposed at the giving of the Manna (Exodus 16:23-30) before the arrival at Sinai. The stricter observance of the Sabbath of Yehovah (thy sabbath) was a special feature of religious purity, reaffirmed by the teaching of Ezra and the Scribes, cf. Nehemiah 13:15 (Isaiah 56:2; Isaiah 58:13).

¹⁵ and gavest them bread from heaven for their hunger, and broughtest forth water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and promisedst them that they should go in to possess the land which Thou hadst sworn to give them. — water for them out of the rock; Cf. Exodus 17:6. But a closer resemblance is afforded by Numbers 20:8, ‘And thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock.’ See Psalm 105:41, ‘He opened the rock, and waters gushed out.’

¹⁶ “But they and our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their necks and hearkened not to Thy commandments. — dealt proudly; Cf. Nehemiah 9:10. In this verse and in Nehemiah 9:29 the word is used with reference to the children of Israel, as in Deuteronomy 1:43, ‘ye rebelled … and were presumptuous.’ Deuteronomy 17:13, ‘all the people shall hear, and fear, and do no more presumptuously.’

— hardened their necks R.V. neck. Cf. Nehemiah 9:17; Nehemiah 9:29. For the phrase ‘a stiff-necked people’ cf. Exodus 32:9; Exodus 33:3; Exodus 34:9; Deuteronomy 9:6; Deuteronomy 9:13. ‘To stiffen’ or ‘harden the neck’ is found in Deuteronomy 10:16, ‘Be no more stiff-necked,’ II Kings 17:14, ‘they would not hear, but hardened their neck, like to the neck of their fathers.’ Cf. Job 9:4.

¹⁷ And they refused to obey, neither were mindful of Thy wonders that Thou didst among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage. But Thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness, and forsookest them not. — in their rebellion appointed a captain; based on Numbers 14:4, and perhaps representing a tradition that the words ‘And they said one to another, Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt’ were partially carried into effect.

¹⁸ Yea, when they had made them a molten calf and said, ‘This is thy God who brought thee up out of Egypt,’ and had wrought great provocations, — molten calf … Egypt; the language is based on Exodus 32:4, ‘… made it a molten calf, and they said, These be thy gods (marg. This is thy god), O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.’

¹⁹ yet Thou in Thy manifold mercies forsookest them not in the wilderness. The pillar of the cloud departed not from them by day, to lead them in the way; neither the pillar of fire by night, to show them light and the way wherein they should go.

²⁰ Thou gavest also Thy good Spirit to instruct them, and withheldest not Thy manna from their mouth, and gavest them water for their thirst.

²¹ Yea, forty years didst Thou sustain them in the wilderness, so that they lacked nothing; their clothes waxed not old and their feet swelled not.

²² Moreover Thou gavest them kingdoms and nations, and didst divide them into corners; so they possessed the land of Sihon and the land of the king of Heshbon and the land of Og, king of Bashan.

²³ Their children also did Thou multiply as the stars of heaven, and broughtest them into the land which Thou hadst promised to their fathers, that they should go in to possess it.

²⁴ So the children went in and possessed the land, and Thou did subdue before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and gavest them into their hands, with their kings and the people of the land, that they might do with them as they would. — so the children went in and possessed the land; not the fathers of the Israelites that came out of Egypt, they died in the wilderness, all excepting two, but their children.

²⁵ And they took strong cities and a fat land, and possessed houses full of all goods, wells dug out, vineyards and olive yards, and fruit trees in abundance. So they ate, and were filled, and became fat, and delighted themselves in Thy great goodness.

²⁶ “Nevertheless they were disobedient and rebelled against Thee, and cast Thy law behind their backs, and slew Thy prophets who testified against them to turn them to Thee; and they wrought great provocations. — nevertheless they cast thy law behind their backs; they neglected and despised thy laws, would not regard nor observe them;

— whereas they ought to have had them continually before their eyes, to direct and govern them in all their ways. The good things they enjoyed in the land which God had given them, made them wanton and forgetful of God and his commandments.

— slew thy prophets: ‘Jezebel cut off the prophets of the Lord,’ 1 Kings 18:4. Not many instances are recorded. But cf. Zechariah (II Chronicles 24; II Chronicles 20-22), Uriah the son of Shemaiah (Jeremiah 26:20-23). The martyrdoms of Isaiah and Jeremiah belong to Jewish tradition.

²⁷ Therefore Thou deliveredst them into the hand of their enemies, who vexed them. And in the time of their trouble when they cried unto Thee, Thou heardest them from heaven; and according to Thy manifold mercies Thou gavest them saviors who saved them out of the hand of their enemies.

²⁸ “But after they had rest, they did evil again before Thee. Therefore leftest Thou them in the hand of their enemies, so that they had the dominion over them; yet when they returned and cried unto Thee, Thou heardest them from heaven. And many times didst Thou deliver them according to Thy mercies,

— MSG But then they mutinied, rebelled against you, threw out your laws and killed your prophets, The very prophets who tried to get them back on your side— and then things went from bad to worse. You turned them over to their enemies, who made life rough for them.

But when they called out for help in their troubles you listened from heaven; And in keeping with your bottomless compassion you gave them saviors: Saviors who saved them from the cruel abuse of their enemies. But as soon as they had it easy again they were right back at it—more evil. So you turned away and left them again to their fate, to the enemies who came right back.

They cried out to you again; in your great compassion you heard and helped them again. This went on over and over and over. You warned them to return to your Revelation, they responded with haughty arrogance: They brushed off your commands, spurned your rules —the very words by which men and women live!

They set their jaws in defiance, they turned their backs on you and didn’t listen. You put up with them year after year and warned them by your spirit through your prophets; But when they refused to listen you abandoned them to foreigners. Still, because of your great compassion, you didn’t make a total end to them. You didn’t walk out and leave them for good; yes, you are a God of grace and compassion.

²⁹ and testifiedst against them, that Thou mightest bring them again unto Thy law. Yet they dealt proudly and hearkened not unto Thy commandments, but sinned against Thy judgements (which if a man do, he shall live in them), and withdrew the shoulder and hardened their neck and would not hear. — which if a man do, he shall live in them; Quoted from Leviticus 18:5, as also in Ezekiel 20:11. Cf. Luke 10:28, ‘This do and thou shalt live.’

³⁰ “Yet many years didst Thou forbear them, and testifiedst against them by Thy Spirit in Thy prophets. Yet would they not give ear; therefore gavest Thou them into the hand of the people of the lands. — there was a continual succession of prophets from the time of Solomon to, and through the captivity. Q. but why were there no known prophets warning them of their impending Jerusalem inferno from AD 66 to 70?

³¹ Nevertheless for Thy great mercies’ sake Thou did not utterly consume them nor forsake them, for Thou art a gracious and merciful God. — gracious and merciful; the same words in Heb. as Nehemiah 9:17 ‘gracious and full of compassion.’

³² “Now therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the fearsome God, who keepest covenant and mercy, let not all the trouble seem little before Thee that hath come upon us—on our kings, on our princes, and on our priests, and on our prophets, and on our fathers, and on all Thy people since the time of the kings of Assyria unto this day. — our God, the great, the mighty, and the terrible God Cf. note on Nehemiah 1:5. See Deuteronomy 10:17, ‘the great God, the mighty and the terrible.’ Daniel 9:4.

³³ Nevertheless, Thou art just in all that is brought upon us; for Thou hast done right, but we have done wickedly. — done right; R.V. dealt truly. Literally ‘truth’ that is, Thou hast fulfilled thy word both in blessing and punishment: but we have been unfaithful to the covenant;

— Cf. Daniel 9:14, ‘For the Lord our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth, and we have not obeyed his voice.’ The pronoun ‘we’ is emphatic; the speakers pass from reference to their forefathers, in order to accept for themselves the responsibility of association with the nation’s guilt.

³⁴ Neither have our kings, our princes, our priests, nor our fathers kept Thy law, nor hearkened unto Thy commandments and Thy testimonies, wherewith Thou didst testify against them. — Thou didst testify against them; concerning all that has befallen us; because their sins deserved punishment and God is only fulfilling His word upon the sinners. Here, it serves to emphasize the subject;

— in the enumeration of the different classes of the people, the prophets are here omitted, because, as God’s witnesses, they are not reckoned among these who had transgressed, though involved (Nehemiah 9:32) in the sufferings that have fallen on the nation.

³⁵ For they have not served Thee in their kingdom, and in Thy great goodness that Thou gavest them, and in the large and fat land which Thou gavest before them, neither turned they from their wicked works. — they have not served thee in their kingdom; “In their kingdom” means “while they had a kingdom of their own and were not subjects as now to a foreign power.” 

— thy great goodness; the large and fat land. Compare Exodus 3:8. Although the limits of Palestine are narrow, yet the land which God flare to his people, extending as it did from the Euphrates to the river of Egypt (Genesis 15:18), might well he termed a “large” or “broad” land.

³⁶ Behold, we are servants this day; and for the land that Thou gavest unto our fathers to eat the fruit thereof and the good thereof, behold, we are servants in it. — we are servants this day; that is, we have now no kingdom, we are slaves – the Persian is our master;

— as we would not be God’s servants, we are handed over to him (comp. II Chronicles 12:8, where “the service of God” and “the service of the kingdoms of the countries” are contrasted).

³⁷ And it yieldeth much increase unto the kings whom Thou hast set over us because of our sins; also they have dominion over our bodies and over our cattle at their pleasure, and we are in great distress. — we are in great distress; we must remember that this language of complaint at the severity of the foreign rule and exactions showed that the effects of the foreign taxation upon the condition of the middle and lower classes were felt very acutely.

³⁸ “And because of all this, we make a sure covenant, and write it; and our princes, Levites, and priests set their seal unto it.” — and our princes, Levites and priests, seal unto it; thus they either appended signatures as witnesses, or made marks to endorse the document and to testify to their approval, thus they would become witnesses against themselves if they dealt deceitfully;

— but prophets were not mentioned above; they often were used to warn of their sins and God’s impending judgements.

Nehemiah 10

¹ Now those who sealed were: Nehemiah the governor, the son of Hachaliah, and Zedekiah (Zidkijah), — Nehemiah the Tirshatha, the son of Hachaliah; the governor of the Jews:

— and Zidkijah; who seems also to have been a prince, since, without, it could not be said it was sealed by their princes, Nehemiah 9:38 though some think both these were priests, and then the princes must be supposed to be among the chief of the people, Nehemiah 10:14, from hence to the end of the twenty seventh their names follow;

— the names of the priests, Nehemiah 10:2, who were in all twenty one; no mention is made either of Eliashib the high priest, where some think he had not behaved well in his office; nor of Ezra the priest and scribe, who could have been either sick or returned to Babylon, 

² Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah, — Seraiah; the family name of the high-priestly house to which Ezra and Eliashib belonged, one of whom—probably Ezra—affixed its seal.

³ Pashhur, Amariah, Malchijah,

⁴ Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluch,

⁵ Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah,

⁶ Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch,

⁷ Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin,

⁸ Maaziah, Bilgai, Shemaiah; these were the priests.

⁹ And the Levites: both Jeshua the son of Azaniah, Binnui of the sons of Henadad, Kadmiel.

¹⁰ And their brethren: Shebaniah, Hodijah, Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan,

¹¹ Micha, Rehob, Hashabiah,

¹² Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah,

¹³ Hodijah, Bani, Beninu.

¹⁴ The chief of the people: Parosh, Pahathmoab, Elam, Zattu, Bani,

¹⁵ Bunni, Azgad, Bebai,

¹⁶ Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin,

¹⁷ Ater, Hezekiah, Azzur,

¹⁸ Hodijah, Hashum, Bezai,

¹⁹ Hariph, Anathoth, Nebai,

²⁰ Magpiash, Meshullam, Hezir,

²¹ Meshezabeel, Zadok, Jaddua,

²² Pelatiah, Hanan, Anaiah,

²³ Hoshea, Hananiah, Hasshub,

²⁴ Hallohesh, Pilha, Shobek,

²⁵ Rehum, Hashabnah, Maaseiah,

²⁶ and Ahijah, Hanan, Anan,

²⁷ Malluch, Harim, Baanah.

²⁸ And the rest of the people —the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the Nethinim, and all those who had separated themselves from the people of the lands unto the law of God, their wives, their sons and their daughters, every one having knowledge and having understanding — and the rest of the people;

— this may be understood in two different ways: (a) according to some it denotes the mass of the laity, as distinguished from their princes and elders, like ‘the people’ (Nehemiah 10:35), ‘the residue of Israel’ (Nehemiah 11:20), and ‘Israel’ (1 Chronicles 9:2);

²⁹ they cleaved to their brethren, their nobles, and entered into a curse and into an oath to walk in God’s law, which was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of the Lord our Lord, and His judgements and His statutes; — and entered into a curse, and into an oath, to walk in God’s law, which was given by Moses the servant of God; they bound themselves with an oath that they would keep the law of God, and added a curse or imprecation on themselves to it should they break it;

— and to observe and do all the commandments of the Lord our God, and his judgments and his statutes; all the laws, moral, ceremonial, and judicial; this they engaged to do in general; some particulars follow.

³⁰ and that we would not give our daughters unto the people of the land, nor take their daughters for our sons; — this prohibition of intermarriage with the people of the land had been strenuously upheld by Ezra 9:2; the difficulty of enforcing it appears from Nehemiah 13:23-28. The words of the prohibition seem to be based on Deuteronomy 7:3 ‘Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son.’ 

³¹ and if the people of the land bring wares or any victuals on the Sabbath day to sell, that we would not buy it from them on the Sabbath or on the holy day; and that we would leave the seventh year and the exaction of every debt. — that we would not buy it of them on the sabbath, or on the holy day; any festival, as the feasts of the Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles:

— and that we would leave the seventh year: the ground untilled in that year, the vines unpruned, and the fruits of the earth, which sprung of themselves, for the poor to gather, Leviticus 25:4,

³² Also we made ordinances for us to charge ourselves yearly with the third part of a shekel for the service of the house of our God: — to charge ourselves; the origin of that annual rate for the general service of the Temple was lowered from half shekel, Exodus 30:13); due to the general poverty of the people, occasioned by war or captivity, this tribute was reduced to a third part of a shekel;

³³ for the showbread, and for the continual meat offering, and for the continual burnt offering of the Sabbaths, of the new moons, for the set feasts, and for the holy things, and for the sin offerings to make an atonement for Israel, and for all the work of the house of our God. — to provide the showbread for the table; the shewbread consisted of 12 unleavened cakes of fine meal, which were laid fresh every Sabbath in two rows of six upon the table in the Holy Place;

— two lambs for the daily offerings, four for the sabbaths and more costly sacrifices for other festivals, occasional sin-offerings, and meat offerings and drink-offerings for them all, the charge of which was great and constant.

³⁴ And we cast the lots among the priests, the Levites, and the people for the wood offering, to bring it into the house of our God according to the houses of our fathers, at times appointed year by year to burn upon the altar of the Lord our God, as it is written in the law; — we cast the lots, to determine the time and order among the priests and the Levites in which each of them should take the care of the business;

— for the wood offering; Nehemiah 13:31. The supply of wood for the enormous number of sacrifices offered at the Temple of Jerusalem must have represented a large annual sum. The difficulty of procuring wood must have been very great: (1) the area of territory occupied by the Jewish community was small, (2) the trees in the neighbourhood must have suffered during the Chaldean invasion and siege.

³⁵ and to bring the firstfruits of our ground and the firstfruits of all fruit of all trees, year by year, unto the house of the Lord; — and to bring the firstfruits of our ground; not that they cast lots to do this, but they bound themselves with an oath to do it; this is the first of all the fruits of the earth, Exodus 23:19,

³⁶ also the firstborn of our sons, and of our cattle (as it is written in the law) and the firstlings of our herds and of our flocks, to bring to the house of our God, unto the priests who minister in the house of our God; — the firstborn of our sons; the firstborn of the children of Israel ‘from a month old’ were redeemed ‘for the money of five shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary.’ Numbers 18:16; cf. Exodus 13:13; Exodus 34:20;

— of our cattle, as it is written in the law; the firstlings of oxen, sheep and goats were not redeemed; they were holy; their fat was offered as a burnt offering; the flesh was the portion of the priests. See Numbers 18:17-19.

³⁷ and that we should bring the firstfruits of our dough, and our offerings, and the fruit of all manner of trees, of wine and of oil, unto the priests to the chambers of the house of our God, and the tithes of our ground unto the Levites, that the same Levites might have the tithes in all the cities of our tillage. — that the Levites might have the tithes in all the cities of our tillage; that is, the tithes of all the fruits of the ground belonging to our several cities;

³⁸ And the priest the son of Aaron shall be with the Levites when the Levites take tithes; and the Levites shall bring up a tenth of the tithes unto the house of our God, to the chambers, into the treasure house. — and the priest, the son of Aaron, shall be with the Levites; as the people gave the tithe of their land to the Levites, so the Levites gave a tithe of their tithes to the priests;

— and it is here ordered that when the people brought them to the Levites, one of the priests should be present to inspect them, and to see that they tithed the tithes, that is, set apart the tenth of the tithes they had received for the priests, which were brought to the chambers of the house of God, wherein they were deposited for their use.

³⁹ For the children of Israel and the children of Levi shall bring the offering of the corn, of the new wine, and the oil, unto the chambers where are the vessels of the sanctuary and the priests who minister and the gatekeepers and the singers. And we will not forsake the house of our God. — the children of Israel and the children of Levi shall bring the offering;

— the priests were not to be troubled with the conveyance of any of the offerings; the firstfruits and other oblations of the people were to be brought to the temple by the people themselves; and the “tithe of the tithe,’ which was the priests’ due, by the Levites. Thus the priests would not be drawn away from their duty of ministering in the temple by secular employments and matters of mere worldly business;

— we will not forsake, or neglect, the house of our God. We will not suffer, that is, any interruption of the continual service of the temple, we will not be parties to any neglect or slovenliness in the conduct of it. So far as we are concerned, everything shall be done to enable the priests and Levites to remain constantly at Jerusalem in full numbers, and to devote themselves wholly to their sacred duties in God’s house. With this emphatic declaration of their intentions the people concluded the engagements by which they voluntarily bound themselves.

Posted in Nehemiah

The Targum is an indispensable source of understanding the Bible. Started by Ezra for those returning Jews from Babylon and for these returnees they could only understand the Sacred Text in Aramaic; hence the Targum is as if Ezra is speaking to them in ancient times from the Sacred Text.

“For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgements,” Ezra 7:10. This process gave birth to the Targum; hence it is as if Ezra is speaking to them in ancient times and to us today from the Sacred Text.

Nehemiah 7

¹ Now it came to pass, when the wall was built and I had set up the doors, and the gatekeepers and the singers and the Levites were appointed, — now it came to pass when the wall was built and I had set up the doors; which was not done when Sanballat sent his first letter, but now was, Nehemiah 6:1,

— and the porters and the singers and the Levites were appointed; not to attend the doors of the gates of the wall but to return to their service in the temple who had been employed in one thing or another, while the wall and gates were building and repairing; see Nehemiah 3:17.

² that I gave my brother Hanani, and Hananiah the ruler of the palace, charge over Jerusalem, for he was a faithful man and feared God above many. — that I gave my brother Hanani; who first brought him the melancholy account of the state of Jerusalem, Nehemiah 1:2,

— and Hananiah the ruler of the palace; the king’s palace, in which the viceroy of the king of Persia dwelt, and now Nehemiah; to these two men he gave charge over Jerusalem; committed it to their care during his absence, who may be supposed now to return to Persia, as he had promised, Nehemiah 2:6,

³ And I said unto them, “Let not the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun be hot; and while they stand by, let them shut the doors and bar them. And appoint watches of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, every one in his watch, and every one to be opposite his house.” — and I said unto them, let not the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun be hot; or until the heat of the day, or near noon; and shone out clearly that if any enemies were near or lying in wait they might be discovered and the inhabitants also up and ready to defend themselves:

⁴ Now the city was large and great, but the people were few therein, and the houses were not built. — now the city was large and great; the circumference of it, all within the wall; for that was built on its old foundation, and enclosed as much ground as ever it did: 

— but the people were few therein; in comparison of the largeness of the place; for though there were 42,360 that came up at first with Zerubbabel and many more with Ezra yet a great number chose to settle in the towns and cities in the country; Jerusalem being in such a desolate condition: and the houses were not builded; some were but they were but few, many of them still lay in ruins.

⁵ And my God put into mine heart to gather together the nobles and the rulers and the people, that they might be reckoned by genealogy. And I found a register of the genealogy of those who came up at the first, and found written therein: — and God put into Nehemiah’s heart; every good motion in him and whatever he thought of that was conducive to the good and welfare of Jerusalem, he always ascribed it to God;

— to gather together the nobles and the rulers and the people that they might be reckoned by genealogy; that their number might be known and of what families they were and in what cities they formerly dwelt; and this was not only of use for the present purpose of Nehemiah, but was of service hereafter to show the pedigree of families and that it might be clearly known from whence the Messiah sprung:

⁶ these are the children of the province who went up out of the captivity, of those who had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away and came again to Jerusalem and to Judah, every one unto his city, — these are the children of the province that went up out of the captivity; who were of the province of Judea as it was now reduced and came up out of the captivity of Babylon through the edict of Cyrus; see Ezra 2:1, where the same preface is given to the list of names as here; 

⁷ who came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, Baanah. The number, I say, of the men of the people of Israel was this: — Jeshua, Nehemiah, etc; to the eleven names given by Ezra, Nehemiah adds one, “Nahamani,” the sixth. He gives the others in the same order as Ezra, but spells some of the names differently – e.g. “Azariah” for “Seraiah,” “Raamiah” for “Reelaiah,” “Mispereth” for “Mizpar,” and “Nehum” for “Rehum.”

⁸ the children of Parosh, two thousand a hundred seventy and two;

⁹ the children of Shephatiah, three hundred seventy and two;

¹⁰ the children of Arah, six hundred fifty and two;

¹¹ the children of Pahathmoab, of the children of Jeshua and Joab, two thousand and eight hundred and eighteen;

¹² the children of Elam, a thousand two hundred fifty and four;

¹³ the children of Zattu, eight hundred forty and five;

¹⁴ the children of Zaccai, seven hundred and threescore;

¹⁵ the children of Binnui, six hundred forty and eight;

¹⁶ the children of Bebai, six hundred twenty and eight;

¹⁷ the children of Azgad, two thousand three hundred twenty and two;

¹⁸ the children of Adonikam, six hundred threescore and seven;

¹⁹ the children of Bigvai, two thousand threescore and seven;

²⁰ the children of Adin, six hundred fifty and five;

²¹ the children of Ater of Hezekiah, ninety and eight;

²² the children of Hashum, three hundred twenty and eight;

²³ the children of Bezai, three hundred twenty and four;

²⁴ the children of Hariph, a hundred and twelve;

²⁵ the children of Gibeon, ninety and five;

²⁶ the men of Bethlehem and Netophah, a hundred fourscore and eight;

²⁷ the men of Anathoth, a hundred twenty and eight;

²⁸ the men of Bethazmaveth, forty and two;

²⁹ the men of Kirjathjearim, Chephirah, and Beeroth, seven hundred forty and three;

³⁰ the men of Ramah and Geba, six hundred twenty and one;

³¹ the men of Michmas, a hundred and twenty and two;

³² the men of Bethel and Ai, a hundred twenty and three;

³³ the men of the other Nebo, fifty and two;

³⁴ the children of the other Elam, a thousand two hundred fifty and four;

³⁵ the children of Harim, three hundred and twenty;

³⁶ the children of Jericho, three hundred forty and five;

³⁷ the children of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, seven hundred twenty and one;

³⁸ the children of Senaah, three thousand nine hundred and thirty.

³⁹ The priests: the children of Jedaiah, of the house of Jeshua, nine hundred seventy and three; — the priests; it appears that only four of the courses of the priests returned from the captivity; and that the course of Abia (Lu 1:5) is not in the list. But it must be noticed that these four courses were afterwards divided into twenty-four, which retained the names of the original courses which David appointed.

⁴⁰ the children of Immer, a thousand fifty and two;

⁴¹ the children of Pashhur, a thousand two hundred forty and seven;

⁴² the children of Harim, a thousand and seventeen.

⁴³ The Levites: the children of Jeshua, of Kadmiel and of the children of Hodevah, seventy and four.

⁴⁴ The singers: the children of Asaph, a hundred forty and eight.

⁴⁵ The gatekeepers: the children of Shallum, the children of Ater, the children of Talmon, the children of Akkub, the children of Hatita, the children of Shobai, a hundred thirty and eight.

⁴⁶ The Nethinim: the children of Ziha, the children of Hasupha, the children of Tabbaoth,

⁴⁷ the children of Keros, the children of Sia, the children of Padon,

⁴⁸ the children of Lebana, the children of Hagaba, the children of Shalmai,

⁴⁹ the children of Hanan, the children of Giddel, the children of Gahar,

⁵⁰ the children of Reaiah, the children of Rezin, the children of Nekoda,

⁵¹ the children of Gazzam, the children of Uzza, the children of Paseah,

⁵² the children of Besai, the children of Meunim, the children of Nephishesim,

⁵³ the children of Bakbuk, the children of Hakupha, the children of Harhur,

⁵⁴ the children of Bazlith, the children of Mehida, the children of Harsha,

⁵⁵ the children of Barkos, the children of Sisera, the children of Tamah,

⁵⁶ the children of Neziah, the children of Hatipha.

⁵⁷ The children of Solomon’s servants: the children of Sotai, the children of Sophereth, the children of Perida, — the children of Solomon’s servants; this section and the section which follows (verses 63-65) are nearly identical in Ezra and Nehemiah. A few names only are slightly different.

⁵⁸ the children of Jaala, the children of Darkon, the children of Giddel,

⁵⁹ the children of Shephatiah, the children of Hattil, the children of Pochereth of Zebaim, the children of Amon.

⁶⁰ All the Nethinim, and the children of Solomon’s servants were three hundred ninety and two.

⁶¹ And these were the ones who went up also from Telmelah, Telharesha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer; but they could not show their father’s house nor their seed, whether they were of Israel.

⁶² The children of Delaiah, the children of Tobiah, the children of Nekoda, six hundred forty and two. — Q. is this Tobiah different from one of the enemies of the Jews together with Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the servant the Ammonite Nehemiah 2:10?

— contrast this with Ezra 2:60, “the children of Delaiah, the children of Tobiah, the children of Nekoda, six hundred fifty and two.”

⁶³ And of the priests: the children of Habaiah, the children of Koz, the children of Barzillai, who took one of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite for a wife, and was called after their name.

⁶⁴ These sought their register among those who were reckoned by genealogy, but it was not found; therefore they were as polluted, put from the priesthood. — were they, as polluted, put from the priesthood R.V. were they deemed polluted and put, Heb. they were polluted from;

ERV These people searched for their family histories, but they could not find them. They could not prove that their ancestors were priests, so they could not serve as priests. Their names were not included in the list of priests.

— Q1. Is the list polluated from the Samaritans? Were these names polluted or edited by Tobiah who had penatrated the Temple and altered the register? (for more see Tobiah in the Temple at the end)

— Q2. Did Tobiah entered his own posterity in verse 62 above as “the children of Tobiah?”

⁶⁵ And the governor said unto them that they should not eat of the most holy things until there stood up a priest with Urim and Thummim.

⁶⁶ The whole congregation together was forty and two thousand three hundred and threescore, — the whole congregation together was forty and two thousand three hundred and threescore. It makes against the view that Ezra’s list was made in Babylon, some time before the final departure, and Nehemiah’s as made at Jerusalem, after the arrival of the exiles, that the sum total is in each case the same (see Ezra 2:64). 

⁶⁷ besides their manservants and their maidservants, of whom there were seven thousand three hundred thirty and seven; and they had two hundred forty and five singing men and singing women.

⁶⁸ Their horses, seven hundred thirty and six; their mules, two hundred forty and five;

⁶⁹ their camels, four hundred thirty and five; six thousand seven hundred and twenty asses.

⁷⁰ And some of the chief of the fathers gave unto the work. The governor gave to the treasury a thousand drams of gold, fifty basins, five hundred and thirty priests’ garments.

⁷¹ And some of the chief of the fathers gave to the treasury of the work twenty thousand drams of gold and two thousand and two hundred pounds of silver.

⁷² And that which the rest of the people gave was twenty thousand drams of gold, and two thousand pounds of silver, and threescore and seven priests’ garments.

⁷³ So the priests, and the Levites, and the gatekeepers, and the singers, and some of the people, and the Nethinim, and all Israel, dwelt in their cities; and when the seventh month came, the children of Israel were in their cities.

Nehemiah 8

¹ And all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the street that was before the Water Gate; and they spoke unto Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded to Israel. — and they spoke unto Ezra the scribe; the same who is called Ezra the priest, and scribe of the law of God, and said to be a ready one, Ezra 7:6, who came to Jerusalem thirteen years before this time; but very probably returned to Babylon again, and was lately come from thence:

— to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded to Israel; to observe what was commanded in it, and which he had ordered to be read, particularly every seventh year, at the feast of tabernacles, Deuteronomy 31:10 which was now drawing near, though this was not the precise time of reading it; hence some have thought this year was the sabbatical year; see Nehemiah 5:11.

² And Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation both of men and women, and all who could hear with understanding, upon the first day of the seventh month. — and Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation; having a perfect copy of it, which the people knew, and therefore desired him to bring it; he brought it either out of his own case or chest, or out of the temple where it was laid up;

— upon the first day of the seventh month; as the seventh was the most important month in a religious sense, so the first day, the Feast of Trumpets, was the most important new moon (Leviticus 23:24).

³ And he read therein before the street that was before the Water Gate from the morning until midday, before the men and the women and those who could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive unto the Book of the Law. — and he read therein; some passages in it, here and there, from early morning) till mid-day; therefore for about six hours daily;

— from Hebrew to Aramaic; which it was necessary the people should have understanding and knowledge of; for it can hardly be thought be began and read on just in the order in which it was: this he did, “And the ears of all the people were directed to the law,” that is, the people listened attentively;

— Ezra had others standing by to relieve him: the reading was also interrupted by exposition (verses 7 to 8). Hence this progress gave rise to the Targum translation.

⁴ And Ezra the scribe stood upon a pulpit of wood which they had made for the purpose. And beside him stood Mattithiah and Shema and Anaiah, and Urijah and Hilkiah and Maaseiah, on his right hand; and on his left hand, Pedaiah and Mishael and Malchijah, and Hashum and Hashbadana, Zechariah and Meshullam. — Pulpit of wood; literally, a tower of wood; to raise him higher than the people; that he might be better seen and heard by them all. Thirteen persons (perhaps representing thirteen tribes), however, were on what is afterwards called a platform, or stair, by his side.

⁵ And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people (for he was above all the people), and when he opened it all the people stood up. — and Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people (for he was above all the people); so plainly seen by them and what he did and the more easily heard for which purpose the pulpit was made for him to stand in:

— and, when he opened it, all the people stood up; that they might the better hear the law read as well as in honour and reverence of it; the Jews say (T. Bab. Megillah, fol. 21.1) that from the times of Moses to Rabban Gamaliel, they learned the law only standing; but after his death a disease came into the world, and they learned it sitting; and now it is a canon with them, that it is not necessary to stand at the reading of the law.

⁶ And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God. And all the people answered, “Amen, Amen,” while lifting up their hands; and they bowed their heads, and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. — it is the custom with the Jews in their synagogues for the reader after he has opened the book and looked out the place he reads, to say this blessing, “Blessed art thou, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, who hath chosen us out of all people, and hath given us his law; blessed art thou, O Lord, who hast given us the law; and all the people answer, Amen;”

— and all the people answered, Amen, Amen: repeating the word, to declare their hearty assent to what Ezra had expressed; the Jews have many rules concerning pronouncing the “Amen”, that it must not be too quick, curt, and short, nor with too high a voice:

— with lifting up their hands; a prayer gesture; and they bowed their heads and worshipped the Lord with their faces to the ground; expressing hereby the awful sense they had of the Divine Being, and their profound adoration of him.

⁷ Also Jeshua and Bani and Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, caused the people to understand the law; and the people stood in their place. — the Levites caused the people to understand the law;

— as well the words, which, being Hebrew, needed to be translated into the Chaldee or Aramic language, now the common language of the returnees; who, together with their religion had also in a great part lost their Hebrews; as also the meaning of them: they expounded the mind and will of God in what they read, and applied it to the people’s present condition.

— some think that Ezra read the law in pure Hebrew, while the Levites who assisted him translated it sentence by sentence into Chaldee, the vernacular dialect which the exiles spoke in Babylon. Others maintain that the duty of these Levites consisted in explaining to the people, many of whom had become very ignorant, what Ezra had read.

⁸ So they read in the book, in the law of God, distinctly, and gave the sense and caused them to understand the reading. — distinctly; ‘or with an interpretation’. On the word see note on Ezra 4:18. The rendering sometimes based on the supposition that the Jews had returned from Babylon speaking Chaldee or Aramaic and that in consequence the Hebrew of ‘the Law’ had to be ‘interpreted’ in the sense of ‘translated.’ This would have been necessary in Ezra’s time.

⁹ And Nehemiah, who is the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people, said unto all the people, “This day is holy unto the Lord your God; mourn not, nor weep.” For all the people wept when they heard the words of the law. — said unto all the people, this day is holy unto the Lord your God; being both the new moon and the feast of blowing of trumpets:

— mourn not, nor weep; which was unsuitable to a festival, and especially such an one as this, in which trumpets were to be blown, and gladness to be shown, Numbers 10:10

— for all the people wept when they heard the words of the law; perceiving they had not kept it, but had broke it in many instances, and so liable to the wrath and judgment of God in case of disobedience.

¹⁰ Then he said unto them, “Go your way, eat the fat and drink the sweet, and send portions unto those for whom nothing is prepared, for this day is holy unto our Lord; neither be ye sorry, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” — notwithstanding the painful remembrances of their national sins which the reading of the law awakened, the people were exhorted to cherish the feelings of joy and thankfulness associated with a sacred festival;

— by sending portions of it to their poorer brethren (Deu 16:11, 14; Es 9:19), they would also enable them to participate in the public rejoicings.

¹¹ So the Levites stilled all the people, saying, “Hold your peace, for the day is holy; neither be ye grieved.” — so the Levites stilled all the people, made them quiet and easy, being backed by the governor: saying, hold your peace; refrain from weeping and mourning:

— for the day is holy; a festival, set apart for joy and gladness: neither be ye grieved; inwardly; as they were not to show any signs of sorrow outwardly, so they were not to cherish grief inwardly.

¹² And all the people went their way to eat and to drink and to send portions and to make great mirth, because they had understood the words that were declared unto them.

¹³ And on the second day were gathered together the chief of the fathers of all the people, the priests, and the Levites, unto Ezra the scribe, even to understand the words of the law. — and on the second day were gathered together; the second day of the month and of the new year, the day after the feast of blowing of trumpets, and after the law had been read and explained:

— unto Ezra the scribe, even to understand the words of the law; some things in it, which, upon reading the day before, they observed had some difficulty in them, and which they did not clearly understand before; and therefore Ezra, a scribe in the law, for better information might be deemed better able to teach the people; which was highly commendable in them.

¹⁴ And they found written in the law, which the Lord had commanded by Moses, that the children of Israel should dwell in booths in the feast of the seventh month; — that the children of Israel should dwell in booths, in the feast of the seventh month: and this already past the second day of the same month; therefore the time was drawing near for keeping it; for it was to begin the fifteenth.

¹⁵ and that they should publish and proclaim in all their cities and in Jerusalem, saying, “Go forth unto the mount, and fetch olive branches and pine branches and myrtle branches, and palm branches and branches of thick trees to make booths, as it is written.” — and they found written in the law that the Lord had commanded Moses, that the children of Israel should dwell in booths in the feast of the seventh month;

— and that they should publish and proclaim in all their cities, and in Jerusalem, saying: “Go forth to the mount, and fetch olive branches, etc. to make booths, as it is written.”

¹⁶ So the people went forth, and brought them and made themselves booths, every one upon the roof of his house, and in their courts and in the courts of the house of God, and in the street of the Water Gate and in the street of the Gate of Ephraim. — so the people went forth, and brought them; went out of Jerusalem to the mountains adjacent, and fetched in branches of the said trees, one or another:

— and made themselves booths, everyone upon the roof of his house; which were flat, Deuteronomy 22:8, and they might be made anywhere, so be it they were open to the air: and in their courts, and in the courts of the house of God; the common people in the courtyards belonging to their houses, and the priests and Levites in the courts of the temple, the yards or open places adjoining to them:

— and in the street of the watergate; which led to that, and seems to have been a very large street, in which many booths might be built, Nehemiah 3:26; and in the street of the gate of Ephraim; which led to the gate through which the road lay to the tribe of Ephraim, see II Kings 14:13, none were erected without the walls of the city, for fear of the enemy.

¹⁷ And all the congregation of those who had come again out of the captivity made booths and sat under the booths; for since the days of Joshua the son of Nun unto that day had not the children of Israel done so. And there was very great gladness. — and all the congregation of them that were come again out of captivity made booths; these came to Jerusalem, and made them booths there;

— and sat under the booths; there they dwelt during the seven days of it, in commemoration of their ancestors dwelling in booths in the wilderness, see Leviticus 23:42

— for since the days of Joshua the son of Nun unto that day had not the children of Israel done so; Joshua observed it, when be had brought and settled the people of Israel in the land of Canaan; and it had been observed since, before this time, as appears from 1 Kings 8:2 Ezra 3:4; but not so, with such exactness,

— with such zeal and affection, with such a regard to the law of God, as to read it every day of the feast, as in the next verse, and with such joy and gladness; wherefore there is no reason to suspect a corruption in the text, as some learned men may say, who supposes that Joshua is put for Josiah:

— and there was very great gladness; that they were restored unto and settled in their land, had the book of the law and the knowledge of it and were directed and enabled to observe it.

¹⁸ Also day by day, from the first day unto the last day, he read in the Book of the Law of God. And they kept the feast seven days; and on the eighth day was a solemn assembly, according unto the manner. — also day by day, from the first day unto the last day, he read in the book of the law of God; that is, Ezra; this was done by him every day during the feast, whereas only the first and last days were the holy convocations on which it seems to have been read:

— and they kept the feast seven days, and on the eighth day was a solemn assembly, according to the manner; prescribed in Leviticus 23:39.

~~~

Tobiah in the Temple – Nehemiah 13:4-9

⁴ And before this, Eliashib the priest, having the oversight of the chamber of the house of our God, was allied unto Tobiah. 

⁵ And he had prepared for him a great chamber, where previously they laid the meat offerings, the frankincense and the vessels and the tithes of the corn, the new wine and the oil, which were commanded to be given to the Levites and the singers and the gatekeepers, and the offerings of the priests. 

⁶ But in all this time I was not at Jerusalem; for in the two and thirtieth year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I came unto the king, and after certain days I obtained leave from the king. 

⁷ And I came to Jerusalem and learned of the evil that Eliashib had done for Tobiah in preparing him a chamber in the courts of the house of God. 

⁸ And it grieved me sore; therefore I cast forth all the household stuff of Tobiah out of the chamber.

⁹ Then I commanded, and they cleansed the chambers; and thither I brought back the vessels of the house of God, with the meat offering and the frankincense.

There are four things mentioned in particular that show the backsliding of the people: the presence Tobiah in the courts of the Temple; the failure to provide adequately for the Levites; the desecration of the Sabbath; and the return to mixed marriages.

When Nehemiah came back to Jerusalem he saw something that must have both grieved and angered him. He found that the priest Eliashib had entered into an agreement with one of the men who had been at the forefront of the opposition to the wall rebuilding.

Not only was Tobiah personally a proven enemy of the people of God, he was an Ammonite, a part of the ‘mixed multitude’ put out of the temple years before. In chapter 6 Tobiah was exerting his influence from without, and maintaining contact with some of the nobles within by letter. But now he was right inside! It is not at all surprising that Nehemiah was upset!

(a) The temple rooms that Tobiah was occupying were supposed to be used for the storage of tithes and offerings for the priests and for the service of God’s sanctuary. It was unthinkable that rooms set apart for a holy purpose should be used by a pagan opponent of the work of God.

(b) Eliashib had failed as the spiritual leader of the people and had neglected to maintain the purity of the house of God. He had not recognised the danger of having an alliance with such a man. Possibly Eliashib thought the regulations for ‘separation’ and ‘no mixing’ were far too strict and uncharitable, but we ignore God’s commands at our peril!

Nehemiah was not just grieved but determined to take radical measures to solve the problem: He threw Tobiah and all his possessions out of the temple; He restored the temple rooms to their proper function. No doubt some would see his action as being harsh but like the Lord Jesus when he cleansed the temple Nehemiah had the wisdom not to confuse ‘love’ with ‘being nice’!

Posted in Nehemiah

The Jewish community were surrounded on all sides: Sanballat and the Samaritans on the north, the Ammonites on the east, the Arabians on the south, and the Philistines (Ashdodites) on the west.

Our God shall fight for us; the Jews reminded themselves, against foes superior in numbers and strength. Their God shall fight for them. See also Exodus 15:3-6, ‘The Lord is a man of war … Thy right hand, O Lord, hath dashed in pieces the enemy;’ Exodus 14:14, ‘The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace …’

Nehemiah 5

¹ And there was a great cry of the people and of their wives against their brethren the Jews. — there was a great cry of the people; of the poor against their rich brethren, who had oppressed them;

— for though the people in general were cured of their idolatry by their captivity, yet they were not cured of their other sins, but loved strange women, and were so covetous that they oppressed the poor and needy; and this at a time when their enemies threatened the destruction of them all.

² For there were those who said, “We, our sons and our daughters are many; therefore we take up corn for them, that we may eat and live.” — for there were that said, we, our sons, and our daughters, are many; not that they complained of the number of their children, for a numerous offspring was always reckoned a blessing with the Jews; but this they observed to show that their families, being large, required a considerable quantity of food to support them:

— therefore we take up corn for them, that we may eat and live; that is, they were obliged to take it at an exorbitant price, which is the thing complained of; or otherwise they must starve, the rich taking the advantage of their poverty and present dearth.

³ There were some also who said, “We have mortgaged our lands, vineyards, and houses, that we might buy corn because of the dearth.” — because of the dearth; not long before this, there had been a great scarcity of corn through want of rain, which God had withheld as a punishment for the people’s taking more care to build their own houses than his temple, as in Haggai 1:9-11. 

— and in this time of scarcity the rich had no compassion on their poor brethren, who were forced to part with all they had for bread. And this dearth was now increased, from the multitude of the people in and near Jerusalem; from their work, which wholly took them up, and kept them from taking care of their families; and from the expectation of their enemies’ invasion.

⁴ There were also those who said, “We have borrowed money for the king’s tribute, and that upon our lands and vineyards. — we have borrowed money for the king’s tribute, and that upon our lands and vineyards; for though the priests, Levites, and Nethinims (temple assistants in ancient Jerusalem), were exempted from it, yet not the people in common; and some of these were so poor, that they could not pay it without borrowing upon their estates, and paying large usury for it.

⁵ Yet now our flesh is as the flesh of our brethren, our children as their children; and lo, we bring into bondage our sons and our daughters to be servants, and some of our daughters are brought unto bondage already; neither is it in our power to redeem them, for other men have our lands and vineyards.” — yet now our flesh is as the flesh of our brethren; we are of the same nature, nation and religion: our children as their children; are circumcised as they, and have a right to the same privileges in church and state:

— and some of our daughters are brought into bondage already; sold to be servants as they might in case of the poverty of parents, Exodus 21:7, and some were sometimes taken to be bond in payment of their parents’ debts, 2 Kings 4:1

⁶ And I was very angry when I heard their cry and these words. — Nehemiah was very angry; his indignation was excited at the excessive usury, which his own brethren and servants required.

⁷ Then I consulted with myself, and I rebuked the nobles and the rulers and said unto them, “Ye exact usury, every one from his brother.” And I set a great assembly against them. — and Nehemiah seek his own counsel; and rebuked the nobles, and the rulers: you exact usury, every one of his brothers where the Deuteronomic law forbids interest upon loans advanced to fellow Israelites, but permits them only with foreigners, Deuteronomy 23:19-20.

— this law treats only of dealing with Israelites and prohibits all idea of making gain out of assistance rendered to brethren in distress. Leviticus 25:35-37.

⁸ And I said unto them, “We, according to our ability, have redeemed our brethren the Jews who were sold unto the heathen. And will ye even sell your brethren? Or shall they be sold unto us?” Then they held their peace, and found nothing to answer. — in this assembly Nehemiah reproached them with the injustice of their behaviour.

— “We” (said he) “have, after our ability, redeemed our brethren the Jews which were sold unto the heathen; yet ye would sell your brethren.” We (that is, Nehemiah and the Jews living in exile, who were like-minded with him) have bought, in contrast to ye sell. God had redeemed their Jewish brethren from the Persians yet they were later sold to the heathen.

⁹ Also I said, “It is not good what ye do. Ought ye not to walk in the fear of our God because of the reproach of the heathen, our enemies? — It is not good that ye do; though you get money by it, you contract guilt, and expose yourselves to the displeasure of God; ought ye not to walk in the fear of our God?

— Certainly you ought, for you profess religion and relation to him; and if you do walk in his fear, you will neither be covetous of worldly gain, nor cruel toward your brethren. They that live in the fear of God will not dare to do an ill thing, because of the reproach of the heathen our enemies;

— who are round about you and are enemies to us, our God and our religion. They observe all your actions and will reproach both you for such barbarous usage of your brethren and religion for your sakes.

¹⁰ I likewise, and my brethren and my servants, might exact from them money and corn; I pray you, let us leave off this usury. — let us leave off this usury; Nehemiah invites his hearers to join with him in abandoning a custom which had been productive of such evil results. ‘This usury,’ that is, requiring of interest or of pledges.

¹¹ Restore, I pray you, to them even this day their lands, their vineyards, their oliveyards, and their houses, also the hundredth part of the money and of the corn, the wine, and the oil that ye exact from them.” — Restore, I pray you; Nehemiah demands immediate redress for the wrongs done to fellow-countrymen. He demands restoration of property and remission of interest on loans.

¹² Then said they, “We will restore them, and will require nothing of them. So will we do as thou sayest.” Then I called the priests and took an oath from them, that they should do according to this promise. — so will we do as thou sayest; they approved of his proposal, and readily agreed to it:

— then Nehemiah called the priests, and took an oath of them that they should do according to this promise; both in that the priests were delinquents, they were charged with issues of this kind; and second, that the priests were called to administer the oath to the nobles and rulers and rich men to oblige them the more to keep their word; an oath being sacred, priests in an holy office were made to give solemn pledge to keep them.

¹³ Also I shook my lap, and said, “So God shake out every man from his house and from his labor who performeth not this promise; even thus be he shaken out and emptied.” And all the congregation said, “Amen,” and praised the Lord. And the people did according to this promise. — shook my lap; this symbolical act imprecated on every man who broke this covenant an appropriate penalty: that he be emptied of all his possessions, even as the fold of Nehemiah’s garment was emptied;

— shook it in the sight of all the people, so that anything which it might have before concealed would have been jerked violently from him. Even so, he says, may God cast forth from His protection and love, in home and work, the man who fails to abide by this oath.

¹⁴ Moreover, from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year even unto the two and thirtieth year of Artaxerxes the king (that is, twelve years), I and my brethren have not eaten the bread of the governor. — have not eaten the bread of the governor; have not taken that allowance which, by the laws of God and nations, and of the king of Persia, the governors might require; that is, noy living at the expense of the people under him.

¹⁵ But the former governors who had been before me were chargeable unto the people, and had taken from them bread and wine, besides forty shekels of silver. Yea, even their servants ruled over the people, but so did I not, because of the fear of God. — the former governors that had been before me. Of these, two only are known to us, Zerubbabel and Ezra; were chargeable unto the people; the words should be rendered “had oppressed the people (ἐβάρυναν, LXX.), “had been heavy upon them;

— had taken of them bread and wine, beside forty shekels. Rather, “had taken from them, for bread and wine, above forty shekels.” It could be forty shekels a day from the whole people, or forty shekels a year from each person as some explain;

— even their servants bare rule; the oppression exercised by the domestics and other servants of rulers is often worse than their own. This is especially the case in ancient times where eunuchs and other domestics have been the most fearful tyrants. Haman under Xerxes, Sejanus under Tiberius, Narcissus under Nero, are examples;

— so did not Nehemiah; he neither exacted money, nor allowed his servants to bear rule. Because of the fear of God. Because Nehemiah felt that it would be wrong, either absolutely or under the circumstances.

¹⁶ Yea, also I continued in the work of this wall, neither bought we any land; and all my servants were gathered thither for the work. — yea, also Nehemiah continued in the work: overseeing, directing, and encouraging the workmen, which was his whole business; and this at his own cost;

— neither bought we any land; of his poor brethren, whose necessities gave abundant opportunities of enriching himself by good bargains. And all his servants were gathered unto the work and received no pay for their labour.

¹⁷ Moreover there were at my table a hundred and fifty of the Jews and rulers, besides those who came unto us from among the heathen who are about us. — a hundred and fifty of the Jews and rulers; the “hundred and fifty” were all “rulers.” Nehemiah means to say that he entertained continually at his table 150 of the Jewish chief men or “rulers” and also an indefinite number of foreign Jews, who came on short visits to Jerusalem.

¹⁸ Now that which was prepared for me daily was one ox and six choice sheep; also fowls were prepared for me, and once in ten days, a store of all sorts of wine; yet for all this I required not the bread of the governor, because the bondage was heavy upon this people. — once in ten clays store of all sorts of wine. Literally “all sorts of wine in abundance.” Wine was probably drunk every day, but laid in every ten days.

— yet for all this. Or “with all this”- notwithstanding this great expenditure, Nehemiah took no allowance as governor. Because the bondage was heavy upon this people. The bondage intended must be that under the Persian crown, since neither the labour at the wall nor the oppression of the creditors lasted during the twelve years that Nehemiah was governor.

¹⁹ Think upon me, my God, for good, according to all that I have done for this people. — think upon me, my God, for good, according to all that Nehemiah had done for this people. He expected not any recompence from the people, but from the Lord; and from him not in a way of merit, but of grace and good will, who forgets not what is done for his name’s sake.

Nehemiah 6

¹ Now it came to pass, when Sanballat and Tobiah and Geshem the Arabian and the rest of our enemies heard that I had built the wall and that there was no breach left therein (though at that time I had not set up the doors upon the gates), — as established in Nehemiah 2-4,” for their adversaries were surrounding the Jewish community on all sides: Sanballat and the Samaritans on the north, Tobiah and the Ammonites on the east, Geshem the chief among the Arabians on the south, and the Philistines (Ashdodites) on the west;”

— though at that time Nehemiah had not set up the doors upon the gates; not upon all of them, though some might by the particular builders of them; and they all of them might be ready made, though not as yet put upon the hinges.

² that Sanballat and Geshem sent unto me, saying, “Come, let us meet together in one of the villages in the plain of Ono.” But they thought to do me mischief. — the wall-building was quite finished, but doors to the gates were as yet wanting to the complete fortification of the city. The enemies sent to Nehemiah, saying, Come, let us meet together (for a discussion) in the villages in the valley of Ono.

— in the plain of Ono; which was in the same tribe, see 1 Chronicles 8:12, they might pretend a friendly meeting, to accommodate differences between them, or to converse together about the general interest of the king of Persia in those parts: but they thought to do me mischief; to kill him, or at least to confine him; this he either conjectured from their general character and behaviour, or he had intelligence of their design.

³ And I sent messengers unto them, saying, “I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down. Why should the work cease, whilst I leave it and come down to you?” — I am doing a great work: he tells them one, but not the only, nor the principal, reason of his refusal, because his coming might cause the work to cease, not only by the neglect of it during his absence, but by his death, which they by this means might compass, though he thought it not fit to express so much to them.

⁴ Yet they sent unto me four times in this manner, and I answered them in the same manner. — and Nehemiah answered them after the same manner; every time as before, he being as much bent on finishing the work as they were to divert him from it.

⁵ Then Sanballat sent his servant unto me in like manner the fifth time with an open letter in his hand, — an open letter in his hand, ‘open,’ not sealed. The object of this was intended that the contents of the letter should become public property. The servant himself and the adherents of Sanballat within the walls of Jerusalem (Nehemiah 6:17) would possess themselves of its contents long before it reached the hands of Nehemiah.

⁶ wherein was written: “It is reported among the heathen, and Geshem saith it, that thou and the Jews think to rebel; for which cause thou buildest the wall, that thou mayest be their king according to these words. — that thou and the Jews think to rebel; that they had formed a scheme and were taking measures to raise a rebellion against the king of Persia and revolt from him:

— for which cause thou buildest the wall; the wall of Jerusalem for their security against any force that might be sent to quell them: that thou mayest be their king, according to these words; written in this epistle and reported among the heathens.

⁷ And thou hast also appointed prophets to preach of thee at Jerusalem, saying, ‘There is a king in Judah!’ And now shall it be reported to the king according to these words. Come now therefore, and let us take counsel together.” — and thou hast also appointed prophets to preach of thee at Jerusalem; this he said to cover what he and Tobiah had been doing, tampering with, corrupting, and hiring the prophets to discourage him, and put him upon methods, whereby the work would cease:

— come now, therefore, and let us take counsel together; contrive the best method to put a stop to this report, if a false one, and to wipe off the reproach that is upon thee and may affect us; and thus partly terrifying him and partly pretending friendship to him, hoped to get him into his hands.

⁸ Then I sent unto him, saying, “There are no such things done as thou sayest, but thou feignest them out of thine own heart.” — Nehemiah, however, saw through his stratagem and sent word to him by a messenger: “There are no such things done as thou sayest, but thou feignest them out of thine own heart,” – to invent, to feign, especially evil things.

⁹ For they all made us afraid, saying, “Their hands shall be weakened from the work, that it be not done.” Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands. — now, therefore, O God, strengthen my hands; and let them not have what they will, and hope for;

— these words are directed to Sanballat, that if he was a friend, as he pretended, that instead of weakening, he would strengthen his hands by a sincere reconciliation.

¹⁰ Afterward I came unto the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah the son of Mehetabeel, who was shut up; and he said, “Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple, and let us shut the doors of the temple; for they will come to slay thee, yea, in the night will they come to slay thee.” — afterward Nehemiah came unto the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabeel, who was shut up;

— either in his own house, or in a chamber in the temple, as if he had given himself up to meditation, fasting and prayer; or, as he might suggest to Nehemiah, for his safety; however he was a person Nehemiah had a good opinion of and came to him on the letters sent to him by his enemies to consult with him and the rest since they had suggested that he had appointed prophets to speak of him as a king;

— for they will come to slay thee; meaning his enemies, Sanballat and his companions: yea, in the night they will come to slay thee; that very night and therefore no time should be lost in providing for his safety.

¹¹ And I said, “Should such a man as I flee? And who is there that, being as I am, would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in.” — Nehemiah was not to be alarmed, but exclaimed: Should such a man as I flee? and what man like me could go into the holy place and live?

— I will not go in. This word is ambiguous; it may mean to save his life, or and save his life; probably Nehemiah used it in the latter sense, having in mind the command, Numbers 18:7, that the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.

¹² And lo, I perceived that God had not sent him, but that he pronounced this prophecy against me; for Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. — the existence of a party among the Jews, a betrayal, who sided with Sanballat and lent themselves to his schemes, is here for the first time indicated;

— the house of Shemaiah; this man was the son of a priest (Shemaiah, the son of Shechaniah, the keeper of the East Gate, Neh 3:29), who was an intimate and confidential friend of Nehemiah. The young man claimed to be endowed with the gift of prophecy. Having been secretly bribed by Sanballat, he, in his pretended capacity of prophet, told Nehemiah that his enemies were that night to make an attempt upon his life.

¹³ Therefore was he hired, that I should be afraid, and do so, and sin, and that they might have cause for an evil report, that they might reproach me. — an evil report; Nehemiah perceived that not God, but Shemaiah himself, had uttered the prophecy “against me,” and that he was hired to bring the governor into discredit as a violator of law.

¹⁴ My God, think Thou upon Tobiah and Sanballat according to these their works, and on the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who would have put me in fear. — my God, think thou on Tobiah and Sanballat according to these their works; their wicked counsels and schemes, and not only confound and disappoint them, but reward them as they deserve:

— the prophetess Noadiah; one that falsely pretended to have the Spirit of prophecy, to deceive and destroy Nehemiah. She has been supposed to have succumbed to a bribe, like Shemaiah; we only know that together with other prophets, she endeavoured to “put Nehemiah in fear.” It is clear that she was unsuccessful.

¹⁵ So the wall was finished in the twenty and fifth day of the month of Elul, in fifty and two days. —Nehemiah built the wall, but earlier, Zerubbabel built the house of the Lord, the temple (Ezra 3:8, 5:2).

¹⁶ And it came to pass that when all our enemies heard thereof, and all the heathen who were about us saw these things, they were much cast down in their own eyes; for they perceived that this work was wrought by our God. — our enemies; the Samaritans, the Ammonites, the Ashdodites and the Arabians under Geshem are the special “enemies” here spoken of.

— the Phoenicians, Syrians, Moabites, etc are the other “heathen round about” the Jews. Even these last were unfriendly and disliked any increase of Jewish power and prosperity; they perceived that this work was wrought of our God. They could not but recognise a special Providence as befriending and protecting the Jews, who, after having been utterly crushed and rooted out by Nebuchadnezzar, were now reestablished in a commanding position in Palestine, and allowed to make their city once more an almost impregnable fortress.

¹⁷ Moreover in those days the nobles of Judah sent many letters unto Tobiah, and the letters of Tobiah came unto them. — the nobles of Judah sent many letters unto Tobiah; corresponding with him against Nehemiah, and against their own city and nation. So that, added to all the other wickedness of this people, there were false brethren among their great men, who favoured, aided, and abetted the designs of their enemies.

¹⁸ For there were many in Judah sworn unto him, because he was the son-in-law of Shechaniah the son of Arah, and his son Jehohanan had taken the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah. — for there were many in Judah sworn unto him; to Tobiah, who not only in a private manner corresponded with him by letters, but bound themselves by an oath to him to be true to his interest, and do as he should advise them:

— because he was the son in law of Shechaniah, the son of Arah; of a family that came up with Zerubbabel from the captivity, Ezra 2:5 and very probably of considerable note:

¹⁹ Also they reported his good deeds before me, and uttered my words to him. And Tobiah sent letters to put me in fear. — also they reported his good deeds before me; recommended him as a very worthy man, deserving of respect and notice by Nehemiah, and to be taken into his friendship, and admitted to conversation with him, whose counsel and advice might be of service:

— and uttered my words to him; reported both what he said and did; for the word used signifies both words and actions: and Tobiah sent letters to put me in fear; perceiving, by the intelligence of his friends, that Nehemiah would have nothing to say to him, nor to do with him, he threatened him.

Posted in Nehemiah

The Jewish community were surrounded on all sides: Sanballat and the Samaritans on the north, the Ammonites on the east, the Arabians on the south, and the Philistines (Ashdodites) on the west.

Our God shall fight for us; the Jews reminded themselves, against foes superior in numbers and strength. Their God shall fight for them. See also Exodus 15:3-6, ‘The Lord is a man of war … Thy right hand, O Lord, hath dashed in pieces the enemy;’ Exodus 14:14, ‘The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace …’

Nehemiah 3

¹ Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brethren the priests, and they built the Sheep Gate. They sanctified it and set up the doors of it; even unto the Tower of Meah they sanctified it, unto the Tower of Hananeel. — Eliashib was the grandson of Joshua, the high priest contemporary with Zerubbabe;

— though he co-operated in the work of rebuilding the walls, his close connexion with Tobiah, as described in Nehemiah 13:4, shows that he compromised and did not fully sympathize with the policy of Ezra and Nehemiah in separating the Jews from any alliance or combination with other nations.

² And next to him built the men of Jericho. And next to them built Zaccur the son of Imri. — and next to Eliashib built the men of Jericho; that is, the posterity of the ancient inhabitants of Jericho (see Ezra 2:34);

— builded Zaccur the son of Imri; who probably was the chief of the men of Jericho; again, compromising and going against the policy of Ezra and Nehemiah in separating the Jews from any alliance or with other nations;

³ But the Fish Gate did the sons of Hassenaah build, who also laid the beams thereof and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof and the bars thereof. — the fish-gate did the sons of Senaah (or Hassenaah) build (see Ezra 2:35); these are of the house of Judah that returned from Babylon; they laid its beams, and set up its doors, bolts, and bars. 

⁴ And next unto them repaired Meremoth the son of Urijah, the son of Koz. And next unto them repaired Meshullam the son of Berechiah, the son of Meshezabeel. And next unto them repaired Zadok the son of Baana. — Meremoth the son of Uriah, the son of Koz or Hakkoz; the children of Hakkoz are mentioned in Ezra 2:61; that is, these are of the house of Judah that returned from Babylon;

— Meshullam … Meshezabeel, or Meshezabel; Meshullam the son of Berechiah appears from Nehemiah 6:18 to have been one of the leading nobles and like Eliashib the high-priest; he compromised in the restoration of the walls, to have been also a close ally of Tobiah, whose son, Jehohanan, married Meshullam’s daughter. He was therefore probably opposed to Nehemiah in general policy.

⁵ And next unto them the Tekoites repaired; but their nobles put not their necks to the work of their Lord. — Tekoites; the men of Tekoa, who do not occur among those who returned with Zerubbabel (Ezra 2), who furnish the solitary instance of internal opposition to the building; and as terming the common work “the work of the Lord,”

— the expression “to bring the neck to service” is, they refused to give any assistance to it with their purses or presence, but withdrew from it, as refractory oxen withdraw their necks from the yoke. This is observed to their disgrace, when the common people of their city were ready to work, and did, but they would not submit to it, either through pride or sloth or covetousness or secret compliance with the enemies of the Jews.

⁶ Moreover Jehoiada the son of Paseah and Meshullam the son of Besodeiah repaired the Old Gate; they laid the beams thereof, and set up the doors thereof and the locks thereof and the bars thereof. — the individuals specified as the builders of this gate are not further known; that is, their names are not listed among the house of Judah that returned from Babylon.

⁷ And next unto them Melatiah the Gibeonite and Jadon the Meronothite, the men of Gibeon and of Mizpah, repaired unto the throne of the governor on this side of the river. — again, these names are not listed among the house of Judah that returned from Babylon.

⁸ Next unto him Uzziel the son of Harhaiah, of the goldsmiths, repaired. Next unto him also repaired Hananiah the son of one of the apothecaries; and they fortified Jerusalem unto the Broad Wall. — same

⁹ And next unto them Rephaiah the son of Hur, the ruler of the half part of Jerusalem, repaired. — same

¹⁰ And next unto them Jedaiah the son of Harumaph repaired, even opposite his house. And next unto him Hattush the son of Hashabniah repaired. — same

¹¹ Malchijah the son of Harim and Hashub the son of Pahathmoab repaired the other piece, and the Tower of the Furnaces. — same

¹² And next unto him Shallum the son of Hallohesh, the ruler of the half part of Jerusalem, repaired — he and his daughters. — same

¹³ The Valley Gate was repaired by Hanun and the inhabitants of Zanoah; they built it and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof and the bars thereof, and a thousand cubits on the wall unto the Dung Gate. — same

¹⁴ But Malchijah the son of Rechab, the ruler of part of Bethhaccerem repaired the Dung Gate; he built it and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof and the bars thereof. — same

¹⁵ But the Gate of the Fountain Shallun the son of Colhozeh, the ruler of part of Mizpah, repaired; he built it and covered it, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof and the bars thereof, and the wall of the Pool of Shelah by the king’s garden and unto the stairs that go down from the City of David. — same

¹⁶ After him Nehemiah the son of Azbuk, the ruler of the half part of Bethzur, repaired unto the place opposite the sepulchers of David, and to the pool that was made and unto the House of the Mighty. — this Nehemiah is not Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah (Nehemiah 1:1), the author of this book.

¹⁷ After him repaired the Levites, Rehum the son of Bani. Next unto him repaired Hashabiah, the ruler of the half part of Keilah, in his part. — the constant mention of “priests,” “Levites,” and Nethinims” sufficiently indicates that the writer is concerned with the sacerdotal quarter, that immediately about the temple.

¹⁸ After him repaired their brethren, Bavai the son of Henadad, the ruler of the half part of Keilah.

¹⁹ And next to him Ezer the son of Jeshua, the ruler of Mizpah, repaired another piece opposite the ascent to the armory at the turning of the wall.

²⁰ After him Baruch the son of Zabbai earnestly repaired the other piece, from the turning of the wall unto the door of the house of Eliashib the high priest. — the wall from the angle to the place of the court of the prison by the king’s upper house; after him Baruch the son of Zabbai emulously repaired a second length of wall, from the angle to the door of the house of Eliashib the high priest.

²¹ After him Meremoth the son of Urijah the son of Koz repaired another piece, from the door of the house of Eliashib even to the end of the house of Eliashib.

²² And after him repaired the priests, the men of the plain.

²³ After him repaired Benjamin and Hashub opposite their house. After him repaired Azariah the son of Maaseiah, the son of Ananiah, by his house.

²⁴ After him Binnui the son of Henadad repaired another piece, from the house of Azariah unto the turning of the wall, even unto the corner.

²⁵ Palal the son of Uzai made repairs opposite the turning of the wall, and the tower which lieth out from the king’s high house that was by the court of the prison; after him Pedaiah the son of Parosh.

²⁶ Moreover the Nethinim dwelt in Ophel unto the place opposite the Water Gate toward the east, and the tower that lieth out.

²⁷ After them the Tekoites repaired another piece, opposite the great tower that lieth out, even unto the wall of Ophel. — as in verse 5, the Tekoites; who do not occur among those who returned with Zerubbabel (Ezra 2), who furnish the solitary instance of internal opposition to the building; and as terming the common work “the work of the Lord.”

²⁸ From above the Horse Gate repaired the priests, every one opposite his house.

²⁹ After them Zadok the son of Immer repaired opposite his house. After him repaired also Shemaiah the son of Shechaniah, the keeper of the East Gate. — Zadok the son of Immer; the head of the priestly family of Immer. See those returning from Babylon: Ezra 2:37.

— Shemaiah the son of Shechaniah is very possibly the descendant of David mentioned in 1 Chronicles 3:22. He must have been an old man, as his son, Hattush, had returned to Jerusalem with Ezra (Ezra 8:2, 3); but still he may have taken part in the work. 

³⁰ After him Hananiah the son of Shelemiah and Hanun the sixth son of Zalaph repaired another piece. After him repaired Meshullam the son of Berechiah opposite his chamber. — the name of Meshullam the son of Berechiah occurs previously in Nehemiah 3:4; but the same individual can hardly be intended in the two verses.

³¹ After him Malchijah the goldsmith’s son repaired unto the place of the Nethinim and of the merchants, opposite the Gate Miphkad and to the ascent of the corner chamber. — the proximity of their work of restoration suggests that both goldsmiths and merchants represented communities largely and closely interested in the transactions connected with Temple offerings;

— for apart from the supply and repair of vessels, furniture, and dress, required for the daily ministration, the dedication of precious things would create a constant traffic close to the Temple. The merchants would establish themselves at the main approaches to the Temple and expose their wares to the throngs of worshippers and sacrificers who collected about this spot.

³² And between the ascent of the corner unto the Sheep Gate repaired the goldsmiths and the merchants. — the goldsmiths and the merchants were required to repair the piece of wall immediately to the south of the sheep gate, for which no individual had volunteered. Probably they had houses in the neighbourhood. They consented; and thus the entire wall was taken in hand, and the great work, which Nehemiah had conceived in his heart while still in Susa, was inaugurated.

Nehemiah 4

¹ But it came to pass that when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was wroth and felt great indignation and mocked the Jews. — and mocked the Jews; pretending contempt in his words, when he had grief, anger, and vexation in his heart as the Samaritan faction was confined at first to scoffs and insults, showing their bitter animosity to the Jews on discovering the systematic design of refortifying Jerusalem;

— Sanballat vented his anger by ridiculing the Jews, saying before his brethren, that is, the rulers of his people, and the army of Samaria;

² And he spoke before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they fortify themselves? Will they make sacrifice? Will they finish it in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which are burned?” — and he spake before his brethren; before Tobiah, Geshem, and others, whom Nehemiah calls his brethren, because of their conjunction with him in office and interest;

— the rulers of his people, and the army of Samaria; in other words, saying publicly before his associates and subordinates, – “What do these feeble Jews? will they leave it to themselves? will they sacrifice? will they finish it to-day? will they revive the stones out of the heaps that are burned?”

— here is what Wikipedia says about the Samaritans: “There has been a history of genetic disorders within the group due to the small gene pool,” such as high incidence of austisics and cripples within their community for generations because of God’s curses upon those who show hostilities to the rebuilding of the house of God in Jerusalem.

³ Now Tobiah the Ammonite was by him, and he said, “Indeed that which they build, if a fox go up, even he shall break down their stone wall.” — and standing near Sanballat, Tobiah the Ammonite said; in the like a contemptuous, mocking and scoffing manner:

— even that which they build, if a fox go up, he shall break down their stone wall; signifying not only that it was so low that a fox could easily get up to it, or leap over it; but that the materials were so bad, and the work so poorly done, that the weight of a fox would break it down; of which creatures many were thereabout since Jerusalem was desolate, see Lamentations 5:18.

⁴ Hear, O our God, for we are despised; and turn their reproach upon their own head, and give them as a prey in the land of captivity. — hear, O our God, for we are despised; here begins the prayer of Nehemiah, who had been informed of what these men said in contempt of him, and his builders, and to whom he sent no answer, but applied to God:

— and turn their reproach upon their own head; as they have despised and reproached us, let them be despised and reproached by their neighbours:

— give them for a prey in the land of captivity; let them be carried captive, as we have been, and become a prey and booty to their enemies.

Here is what Wikipedia says about the Samaritans: “There has been a history of genetic disorders within the group due to the small gene pool,” such as high incidence of austisics and cripples within their community but of course they manage to deflect from mentioning the truth of God’s curses upon those who show hostilities to the rebuilding of the house of God in Jerusalem.

⁵ And cover not their iniquity, and let not their sin be blotted out from before Thee; for they have provoked Thee to anger before the builders. — and cover not their iniquity, and let not their sin be blotted out from before thee; let it not go unpunished, and even let it not be pardoned; and as a result, God had threatened the Moabites and Ammonites with utter destruction:

— for they have provoked thee to anger before the builders; by despising his people, and mocking at the work the Lord had called them to; and this they did publicly, and on purpose to discourage the workmen.

⁶ So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto half its height, for the people had a mind to work. — so built we the wall; they went on in building it, notwithstanding their scoffs and threats:

— and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof; it was carried all round the city to half the height of it: for the people had a mind to work; their heart was in it, they had a good will to it, and they made haste to finish it.

⁷ But it came to pass that when Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabians and the Ammonites and the Ashdodites heard that the walls of Jerusalem were being rebuilt, and that the breaches began to be stopped, then they were very angry.

— Sanballat … Ashdodites; here we have a complete list of the foes of Jerusalem. See notes on Nehemiah 2:10; Nehemiah 2:19. The Ammonites were the fellow-countrymen of Tobiah, the Arabians of Geshem (Nehemiah 2:19).  With them are classed the dwellers by the coast (the Shephêlah) represented by the, Ashdodites or inhabitants of Ashdod. Ashdod was one of the principal Philistine cities (1 Samuel 5). It occupied a strong position near the sea;

— when these enemies heard that the walls of Jerusalem were bandaged, that is, that the breaches and damages in the wall were repaired, they were filled with wrath.

⁸ and conspired all of them together to come and to fight against Jerusalem and to hinder it. — and conspired all of them together; all the above men and people entered into a confederacy and combination:

— to come and to fight against Jerusalem; to bring an army with them, and by force cause the Jews to desist; and to hinder it; the building of the walls of it; or “to make a wandering for him” to cause them to stray from their work, to frighten them from it.

⁹ Nevertheless we made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch against them day and night, because of them. — nevertheless, we made our prayer unto our God; spread their case before him in prayer, entreating direction and help from him:

— and set a watch against them day and night because of them; to give notice of their approach that they might prepare to defend themselves; though they prayed to God and trusted in him for deliverance, they did not neglect the use of means.

¹⁰ And Judah said, “The strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed, and there is much rubbish, so that we are not able to build the wall.” — the placing of the watch day and night and the continuous labour must have pressed heavily upon the people;

— also being terrified by their enemies and wearied with continual labour, Judah said: “The strength of the bearers of burdens fails, and there is much rubbish; we are not able to build the wall.” That is to say, the labour is beyond our power, we cannot continue it.

¹¹ And our adversaries said, “They shall not know, neither see, until we come in the midst among them and slay them and cause the work to cease.” — they shall not know; as to the adversaries, their plan was evidently to watch and surprise, instead of making the threatened attack.

— or, their enemies resolved not to appear with an army before Jerusalem, but to march so secretly that the Jews should have no notice of their approach till they saw them in the city, armed and prepared to attack them suddenly, and put them to the sword.

¹² And it came to pass that when the Jews who dwelt by them came, they said unto us ten times, “From all places whence ye shall return unto us, they will be upon you.” — when therefore the Jews who dwelt near them, that is, in the neighbourhood of the adversaries and heard their words came to Jerusalem, “and said to us ten times (that is, again and again), that from all places ye must return to us;

— for their adversaries were surrounding the Jewish community on all sides: Sanballat and the Samaritans on the north, the Ammonites on the east, the Arabians on the south, and the Philistines (Ashdodites) on the west; 

— MSG And all this time our enemies were saying, “They won’t know what hit them. Before they know it we’ll be at their throats, killing them right and left. That will put a stop to the work!” The Jews who were their neighbors kept reporting, “They have us surrounded; they’re going to attack!” If we heard it once, we heard it ten times.

¹³ Therefore set I men in the lower places behind the wall, and on the higher places; I even set the people by families with their swords, their spears, and their bows. — in the lower places behind the wall; to stand by and within the walls where they were lowest, and therefore most liable to the enemy’s assault; perhaps should render, ‘And I set the engines (or catapults) in the space behind the wall in well-protected positions.’

— on the higher places; upon the tops of the walls where they were finished, and the towers which were built here and there upon the wall; whence they might shoot arrows or throw stones against their enemies, when they made their approaches.

¹⁴ And I looked, and rose up, and said unto the nobles and to the rulers and to the rest of the people, “Be not ye afraid of them; remember the Lord, who is great and fearsome, and fight for your brethren, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your houses.” — “And I looked, and rose up, and said.” These words can only mean: When I saw the people thus placed with their weapons, I went to them, and said to the nobles, “Be not afraid of them (the enemies); remember the Lord, the great and the terrible,” who will fight for you against your enemies;

— their foes are banded together to compass the extermination of their race and name; their brotherhood, the blessings of family and home (sons and daughters), the ties of personal affection (wives) or cherished ancestral inheritance (house) were at stake. The enemy against whom they fought knew no pity.

¹⁵ And it came to pass, when our enemies heard that it was known unto us and God had brought their counsel to nought, that we returned all of us to the wall, every one unto his work. — thus was the design of the enemy circumvented; the enemy, on hearing that Nehemiah was prepared to meet their attack, seem to have abandoned their intention of an immediate assault;

— and the Jews returned to their work on the wall, which they had forsaken to betake themselves to their weapons.

¹⁶ And it came to pass from that time forth, that the half of my servants wrought in the work, and the other half of them held both the spears, the shields and the bows and the jackets of mail; and the rulers were behind all the house of Judah. — the manner in which they resumed their building work was, that one half held weapons, and the other half laboured with weapons in hand.

¹⁷ Those who built on the wall and those who bore burdens with those who loaded — every one with one of his hands wrought in the work and with the other hand held a weapon. — just a reminder that the Jewish community were surrounded on all sides: Sanballat and the Samaritans on the north, the Ammonites on the east, the Arabians on the south, and the Philistines (Ashdodites) on the west; 

— they were to face God’s judgement in due time with utter destruction! For Nehemiah had prayed earlier: “Hear, O our God, for we are despised; and turn their reproach upon their own head, and give them as a prey in the land of captivity.”

¹⁸ For the builders, every one, had his sword girded by his side, and so built. And he that sounded the trumpet was by me. — and he that sounded the trumpet was by me; these words imply that Nehemiah was the life and soul of the defence, and that he was untiring in moving from point to point in the wall, superintending the work and directing the disposition for their welbeings.

¹⁹ And I said unto the nobles and to the rulers and to the rest of the people, “The work is great and large, and we are separated upon the wall, one far from another. — the work is great and large; the building of the wall all around the city of Jerusalem:

— and we are separated upon the wall one far from another; some at work on one part of it, and some at another, so that the distance between one another, at least in the further part, was very considerable.

²⁰ In what place therefore ye hear the sound of the trumpet, resort ye thither unto us. Our God shall fight for us.” — our God shall fight for us; the Jews shall fight, and even against foes superior in numbers and strength shall prevail. Their God shall fight for them. See also Exodus 15:3-6, ‘The Lord is a man of war … Thy right hand, O Lord, hath dashed in pieces the enemy;’ Exodus 14:14, ‘The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace …’ Cf. Deuteronomy 1:30; Deuteronomy 3:22; Deuteronomy 20:4; Deuteronomy 28:7.

²¹ So we labored in the work; and half of them held the spears from the rising of the morning until the stars appeared. — So we laboured, or So we wrought. The word in the original being the same as that rendered ‘wrought’ in Nehemiah 4:16-17, it is best to adhere to the same English equivalent. ‘We:’ the pronoun is emphatic, that is, I and my servants.

— “So we continued to work; and one-half of my personal followers continued to keep watch, and to hold the spears.”

²² Likewise at the same time said I unto the people, “Let every one with his servant lodge within Jerusalem, that in the night they may be a guard to us, and labor in the day.” — lodge within Jerusalem. i.e. “sleep” or “pass the night” there, instead of returning to their several villages or towns;

— that in the night they may be a guard to us. The very fact that they were in Jerusalem and known to be there would tend to prevent an attack; and if the enemy assaulted by night, they would be at hand and able to take their part in guarding the work. Nehemiah 4:22.

²³ So neither I, nor my brethren, nor my servants, nor the men of the guard who followed me, none of us, put off our clothes, except that every one put them off for washing. — saving that everyone put them off for washing; not for common washing, because dirty, but for washing on account of ceremonial uncleanness, which required washing both of bodies and garments.

Posted in Nehemiah

Many of the prophecies in the Old Testament were meant for the endtime. “But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, even to the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased,” Daniel 12:4. Hence we, at the endtimes, should have better understanding of what and how those prophecies are meant to be fulfilled.

Nehemiah 1

¹ The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. And it came to pass in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in the palace at Shushan, — the words of Nehemiah; or the word used often signifies; that is, the things which Nehemiah did;

— Shushan the palace, or Susa, was the ordinary residence of the Persian kings. “The palace” or acropolis was a distinct quarter of the city, occupying an artificial eminence.

— according to Nehemiah 1:11, Nehemiah was cup-bearer to the Persian king, and was, at his own request, appointed for some time Pecha, that is, governor of Judah.

² that Hanani one of my brethren came, he and certain men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews who had escaped, who were left behind from the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem.

³ And they said unto me, “The remnant who are left behind from the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire.” — and they said unto me, the remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province; in Judea, now reduced to a province of the Persian empire: are in great affliction and reproach; harassed and distressed, calumniated and vilified by their enemies, the Samaritans:

— the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burnt with fire; that is, its wall and gates were in the same condition in which Nebuchadnezzar had left them, for since his times as yet they had never been set up; for this is not to be understood of what was lately done by their adversaries, which is not at all probable.

⁴ And it came to pass when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven — that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days; sat down upon the ground in dust and ashes, after the manner of mourners, and wept bitterly, and mourned in a most sorrowful manner; and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven; that made it, and dwells in it.

⁵ and said: “I beseech thee, O Lord God of heaven, the great and fearsome God, who keepeth covenant and mercy for those who love Him and observe His commandments, — and said, I beseech thee. The opening of Nehemiah’s prayer follows so closely the thoughts and words of Daniel’s (Daniel 9:4), that it is almost impossible to suppose that one of the two writers had not the words of the other before him.

⁶ let Thine ear now be attentive and Thine eyes open, that Thou mayest hear the prayer of Thy servant, which I pray before Thee now day and night for the children of Israel Thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel which we have sinned against Thee. Both I and my father’s house have sinned. — I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants; this he had continued to do ever since he heard of their trouble and calamity:

— and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father’s house have sinned; he considered sin as the cause of all this evil that had befallen his people, and confesses it with sorrow and humiliation, and not their sins only, but his own personal and family sins.

⁷ We have dealt very corruptly against Thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments which Thou commanded Thy servant Moses. — we have dealt very corruptly against thee,…. Corrupted his covenant, laws, and precepts, as well as themselves, ways, and works; all which were against the Lord, contrary to his nature, mind, and will:

— and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses; the laws, moral, ceremonial, and judicial.

⁸ Remember, I beseech Thee, the word that Thou commanded Thy servant Moses, saying, ‘If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations; — remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses; to declare to the children of Israel, Deuteronomy 28:64, saying, if ye transgress; the law of God:

— I will scatter you abroad among the nations; as now they had been among the Assyrians, Chaldeans, Medes, and Persians.

— and those at the endtime, to suffer Judgement by the sword, by famine, by pestilence and spending years in captivity to reflect and repent there (for more see Ezekiel 4 – 390/40 Years and A Sword from the South!).

⁹ but if ye turn unto Me, and keep My commandments and do them, though there were some of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set My name there.’ — though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven; that is, the most distant regions; so called, because at the extreme parts of the horizon, the heavens and earth touch each other;

— yet will I gather them from thence and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there; that is to Jerusalem where the temple was built, and his name was called upon.

¹⁰ Now these are Thy servants and Thy people, whom Thou hast redeemed by Thy great power and by Thy strong hand. — whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand; touching and moving the heart of Cyrus to proclaim liberty to them.

¹¹ O Lord, I beseech Thee, let now Thine ear be attentive to the prayer of Thy servant, and to the prayer of Thy servants who desire to fear Thy name; and prosper, I pray Thee, Thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.” For I was the king’s cupbearer. — and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day; meaning himself, who was to wait on the king of Persia that day, and, if he had opportunity, intended to lay the case of the Jews before him, and therefore entreats he might meet with success:

— for I was the king’s cupbearer; in the execution of which office he was often in the king’s presence, and hoped to have an opportunity of speaking to him in the behalf of the Jews; this with the Persians was reckoned a very honourable office.

Nehemiah 2

¹ And it came to pass in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that wine was before him; and I took up the wine and gave it unto the king. Now I had not before been sad in his presence. — that wine was before the king; it was brought and set in a proper place, from whence it might be taken for his use:

— and Nehemiah took up the wine, and gave it to the king; the cupbearer with the Persians and Medes used to take the wine out of the vessels into the cup, and pour some of it into their left hand, and sup it up, that, if there was any poison in it, the king might not be harmed, and then he delivered it to him upon three fingers;

— now Nehemiah had not been before time sad in his presence; but always pleasant and cheerful, so that the sadness of his countenance was the more taken notice of.

² Therefore the king said unto me, “Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick? This is nothing else but sorrow of heart.” Then I was very sore afraid, — the king said, Why is thy countenance sad? – his fasting, joined with inward grief, had made a sensible change in his countenance.

— then Nehemiah was sore afraid; it was an unusual and ungracious thing to come into the king of Persia’s presence with any token of sorrow. And he feared a disappointment, because his request was great and invidious, and odious to most of the Persian courtiers.

³ and said unto the king, “Let the king live for ever. Why should not my countenance be sad when the city, the place of my fathers’ sepulchers, lieth waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire?” — and Nehemiah said unto the king, let the king live for ever; which some think he said to take off the king’s suspicion of his having a design upon his life, though it seems to be a common salutation of the kings in those times, see Daniel 6:6,

— why should not my countenance be sad when the city, the place of my fathers’ sepulchres, lieth waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire? a man’s native place, and where his ancestors lie interred, being always reckoned near and dear, the king and his nobles could not object to his being concerned for the desolations thereof.

⁴ Then the king said unto me, “For what dost thou make request?” So I prayed to the God of heaven. —the king said unto me, Why is thy countenance sad? It was deemed highly unbecoming to appear in the royal presence with any weeds or signs of sorrow (Es 4:2);

— and hence it was no wonder that the king was struck with the dejected air of his cupbearer, while that attendant, on his part, felt his agitation increased by his deep anxiety about the issue of the conversation so abruptly begun;

— but the piety and intense earnestness of the man immediately restored Nehemiah to calm self-possession and enabled him to communicate, first, the cause of his sadness (Neh 2:3), and next, the patriotic wish of his heart to be the honored instrument of reviving the ancient glory of the city of his fathers.

⁵ And I said unto the king, “If it please the king, and if thy servant have found favor in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me unto Judah,unto the city of my fathers’ sepulchers, that I may build it.” — and Nehemiah said unto the king; if it please the king, and if thy servant have found favour in thy sight; Nehemiah submits what he had to say wholly to the pleasure of the king, and puts it upon his unmerited favour, and not on any desert of his own:

— that thou wouldest send me unto Judah, unto the city of my fathers’ sepulchres, that I may build it; the wall of it, and the houses in it; the favour was, that he might have leave to go thither, and set about such a work, for which he was so much concerned.

⁶ And the king said unto me (the queen also sitting by him), “For how long shall thy journey be? And when wilt thou return?” So it pleased the king to send me, and I set him a time. — and the king said unto me, the queen also sitting by him; which it seems was not very common for the queens of Persia to dine with the kings their husbands; as for the providence of God in it, that she having a good respect for Nehemiah and the Jewish nation and forwarded the king in his grant to him:

— so it pleased the king to send me when he promised to return unto him, not in twelve years, which was the time of his government in Judea but in a lesser space, perhaps a year at most, since in less than two months the wall of Jerusalem was finished; and it may be that he then returned to the king of Persia, who sent him again under the character of a governor, finding it was for his interest to have such a man in those parts.

⁷ Moreover I said unto the king, “If it please the king, let letters be given me to the governors beyond the river, that they may convey me over until I come into Judah, — letters be given me to the governors beyond the river; the Persian empire at this time was of vast extent, reaching from the Indus to the Mediterranean. The Euphrates was considered as naturally dividing it into two parts, eastern and western.

⁸ also a letter unto Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the palace which appertained to the house, and for the wall of the city and for the house that I shall enter into.” And the king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me. — the house that I shall enter into; the governor’s residence;

— Nehemiah assumes that the powers for which he asks involve his being appointed governor of Judaea. The king granted Nehemiah, according to the good hand of God upon him. Through God’s special favour towards him, the king was induced to grant his request.

⁹ Then I came to the governors beyond the river, and gave them the king’s letters. Now the king had sent captains of the army and horsemen with me. — on his way to Jerusalem, Nehemiah would pass through the provinces of various Persian satraps and governors;

— to those beyond the Euphrates he carried letters, which he took care to deliver, though by doing so he aroused the hostility of Sanballat. Being accompanied by an escort of Persian soldiers, he experienced neither difficulty nor danger by the way, but effected his journey in about three months, Nehemiah 2:8.

¹⁰ When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the servant the Ammonite heard of it, it grieved them exceedingly that there had come a man to seek the welfare of the children of Israel. — Sanballat was evidently one of the leaders of the Samaritan community (see on Nehemiah 4:2)

— although Sanballat was the Horonite; so called, either from his family, or from the place of his birth or rule, which is supposed to be Horonaim, an eminent city of Moab, Isaiah 15:5 Jeremiah 48:3. This Sanballat was the person who afterward instigated Alexander the Great to build the temple of Gerizim in order to sow discord among the Jews and their neighbours.

— and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite; who was formerly a slave but now raised from a low mean estate to be governor in the land of Ammon, though still a vassal of the king of Persia:

— heard of it, it grieved them exceedingly that there came a man to seek the welfare of the children of Israel; to which the Moabites and Ammonites were always averse, and ever bore an hatred to Israel, and envied everything that tended to their happiness.

— Sanballat. According to Josephus, Sanballat was “satrap of Samaria” under the Persians, and by descent a Cuthaean, a Samaritan (‘Ant. Jud.,’ 11:7, § 2); whose aim was to corrupt the Jewish high priest by marriage: “so that he willingly gave his daughter, whose name was Nicaso, in marriage to Manasseh, as thinking this alliance by marriage would be a pledge and security that the nation of the Jews should continue their good-will to him.” (more at the end)

¹¹ So I came to Jerusalem and was there three days. — after his arrival at Jerusalem, Nehemiah waited three days before taking any steps. Ezra had done the same (Ezra 8:32). It was necessary to rest after the journey, and to interchange the formalities of Eastern courtesy with the principal people of the city.

¹² And I arose in the night, I and some few men with me. Neither told I any man what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem; neither was there any beast with me, except the beast that I rode upon. — Nehemiah went out ‘by night’ with only a few attendants. He did not wish to excite the curiosity of the people or to arouse the suspicion of his foes with respect to his intended project.

¹³ And I went out by night by the Gate of the Valley, even before the Dragon Well and to the dung port, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem which were broken down, and the gates thereof were consumed with fire. — and viewed the walls of Jerusalem: in what condition they were, what was necessary to be wholly taken down, and where to begin to build: it must have been a moonlight night or he could not have taken a view; for to have carried torches or lamps with them would have discovered them:

— and the gates thereof were consumed with fire; nothing of them remained.

¹⁴ Then I went on to the Gate of the Fountain and to the King’s Pool, but there was no place for the beast that was under me to pass. — but there was no place for the beast that was under me to pass; because of the heaps of rubbish that lay there; blocking the way. The animal could not proceed. Nehemiah therefore dismounted, and “in the night, dark as it was, pursued his way on foot.”

¹⁵ Then went I up in the night by the brook and viewed the wall, and turned back and entered by the Gate of the Valley, and so returned. — by the brook; “The brook Kidron” which skirted the city on the east.

— from this he would be able to “look up at the eastern wall” along its whole length, and see its condition. Following the brook, he was brought to the north-eastern angle of the city; on reaching which he seems to have “turned back” towards the point from which he had started, and skirting the northern wall, to have re-entered by the gate of the valley.

¹⁶ And the rulers knew not whither I went or what I did; neither had I as yet told it to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest who did the work. — and the rulers knew not whither I went, or what I did; the rulers of the city of Jerusalem, who seem to be officers of the king of Persia, since they are distinguished from Jewish rulers;

— neither had I as yet told it to the Jews; what he came about and designed to do: nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers; the principal men among the Jews, both ecclesiastical and civil: nor to the rest that did the work; of building and repairing; neither those that were employed in it, nor those that overlooked it.

¹⁷ Then said I unto them, “Ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire. Come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach.” — come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem that we be no more a reproach; to their neighbours about them, who scoffed at them as a defenceless people and frequently came in upon them, and spoiled and plundered them of their goods and substance.

¹⁸ Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me, as also the king’s words that he had spoken unto me. And they said, “Let us rise up and build.” So they strengthened their hands for this good work. — then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me; of the kind providence of God in exalting him in the court of the king of Persia, in giving him an opportunity of laying the sad case of Jerusalem before him, and in inclining his heart to show favour to him, and grant his request:

— as also the king’s words that he had spoken to me; what passed between them on this subject, the commission he gave him, and the letters he sent by him to his governors on this side the river: and they said, let us rise up and build; encouraged by this account of things, they proposed to set about the work immediately:

— so they strengthened their hands for this good work; animated and encouraged one another to proceed to it at once with cheerfulness, and to go on in it with spirit and resolution.

¹⁹ But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian heard it, they laughed us to scorn and despised us, and said, “What is this thing that ye do? Will ye rebel against the king?” — as established in Nehemiah 2-4,” for their adversaries were surrounding the Jewish community on all sides: Sanballat and the Samaritans on the north, Tobiah and the Ammonites on the east, Geshem the chief among the Arabians on the south, and the Philistines (Ashdodites) on the west;”

— the enmity and hatred of serpent’s seed against the cause of God is confined to no age or nation; the application from then to the latter days are plain.

²⁰ Then answered I them and said unto them, “The God of heaven, He will prosper us. Therefore we His servants will arise and build; but ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial in Jerusalem.” — you have no portion nor right; do not trouble yourselves about this matter, who have no possession among us, no authority over us, nor interest in our affairs or state; nor memorial in Jerusalem;

— no testimony or monument either of your relation to us by birth or religion, or of your kindness to us or to this place, but you are aliens from the children of Israel: therefore mind your own business and do not meddle with ours.

~~~

THE SAMARITANS

— the Samaritans are adversaries to the returning Jews because of (a) difference in defining what time at ben ha’arbayim when the Pascha lamb should be killed: the Jewish definition of ben ha’arbayim “between the two evenings” is “after noon and until nightfall,” whereas the Samaritans is sunset or dusk; (b) when is omer, which translated to English is rendered “wave sheaf” offering to be made: the Jews definition has it on the annual Sabbath after Pascha, whereas the Samaritans has it the day after the weekly Sabbath during the days of unleavened bread;

— (c) after counting seven weeks after the omer, on what day Shavuot is to be kept: the Jews have it on Sivan 6th, whereas the Samaritans always have it on a weekly Sabbath; (d) the three annual feasts are to be kept in Jerusalem, whereas the Samaritans have their feasts on Mount Gerizim, which they consider a sacred mountain; and (e) once in roughly three years, the Samaritan calendar starts one month later than the Jewish calendar.

Here is what Wikipedia says about the Samaritans: “There has been a history of genetic disorders within the group due to the small gene pool,” such as high incidence of austisics and cripples within their community but of course they manage to deflect from mentioning the truth of God’s curses upon those who show hostilities to the rebuilding of the house of God in Jerusalem.

Posted in Nehemiah